Posted by: euser
January 30, 2009
Topic: Medical Products Liability

A spine surgeon who also performs research at the University of Wisconsin was paid $19 million over five years from Medtronic, Inc. while using its products on his patients. This activity was discovered by a senator who was investigating potential conflicts of interest in medicine and medical products research.

Dr. Thomas Zdeblick received payments from Medtronic while helping them to develop and promote a number of spinal products. The amount of money he was paid was significantly more than he reported to the university for his work. This activity supports the growing concern over conflicts of interest between medical products manufacturers, as well as prescription drug manufacturers, who pay large sums of money to physicians to "test" their products and thereafter receive endorsements for the products. This reinforces the concern that the public has over what the real reason is for the high cost of medical care.

In a similar but unrelated matter, prescription drug manufacturer Eli Lilly was found to have engaged in illegal marketing practices when marketing its drug Zyprexa. It had trained its sales agents to inform physicians that Zyprexa was an appropriate drug to help persons with Alzheimer's to sleep and obtain rest and to be relieved of agitation. However, Zyprexa had not been approved by the FDA for such purposes and Zyprexa has a number of potential side-effects and therefore was inappropriately being recommended. Fortunately, some salespeople from Eli Lilly stepped forward and reported this unlawful activity resulting in a "whistle-blower lawsuit" which caused Eli Lilly to agree to pay $800 million to settle this whistle-blower lawsuit.

It is not surprising that large corporations continue to complain about lawsuits in America because these suits hold them accountable. This is a classic example of how a lawsuit is serving to bring corporate wrongdoers to justice. These corporate wrongdoers are not only selling drugs and making money by selling products that have no assurance of providing the relief promised, but are making money "hand over fist" by selling such drugs when they have not been approved for such use.

Web Resources

Legal links:

• Christian & Davis, LLC's main website
• South Carolina Bar Association
• American Association for Justice
• South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
• Findlaw
• Lawyers.com

Consumer and workers info links:

• Workcompcentral.com
• Home Safety Council
• People Over Profits Grassroots Action Center

Governmental links:

• South Carolina Judicial Department
• United States Judicial Department
• South Carolina Legislature
• Food and Drug Administration
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration
• U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission

Nursing Home links:

• South Carolina LTC Ombudsman
• National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
• Member of the Family - Nursing Home Quality Trends & Staffing

Medical Resources:

• Lectric Law Library Lawcopedia's: Medical Malpractice
• New England Journal of Medicine
• Agency for Quality Health Care and Research
• Anatomy of the Human Body
• Workers Compensation Agencies
• National Library of Medicine
• Physician Profiles - Healthcare Choices
• AMA - Physician Sheet Health Grade
• Hospital Report Cards
• Merck Manual of Diagnosis & Therapy
• Merck Manual of Medical Information
• National Health Law Program HealthTouch
• Prescription Drug Information MedExplorer
• Medical Dictionaries